New Mexico

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall reported that the Senate has approved legislation to fund key construction projects at New Mexico's military installations.

The fiscal year 2010 Military Construction and Department of Veterans' Affairs Appropriations Act sets aside a total of $172 million for Cannon, Kirtland and Holloman Air Force Bases, as well as the National Guard facility in Santa Fe.

"This bill invests millions of dollars in New Mexico's military installations and ensures that our Air Force and National Guard facilities remain in top shape," Bingaman said. "It is another way to support the men and women of our armed forces."    » read more »

Heads for disposal facility in New Mexico

ARGONNE, Ill. (Nov. 16, 2009) – The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has been removing transuranic (TRU) waste from its site for three years, but the Oct. 15 shipment of radioactive material to a disposal facility near Carlsbad, New Mexico marked the first time the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) picked up the tab.

The cleanup work is paid for by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management. The influx of ARRA funds will allow the laboratory to ship out more than four times as much TRU waste (including both remote- and contact-handled) in the next 24 months as it has since the project was conceived three years ago.    » read more »

State’s Supercomputer enables Projects Eligibility for Funding

November 13, 2009 -- SANTA FE -- New Mexico Governor Richardson today announced that the National Science Foundation has awarded the University of New Mexico $41M for collaborative projects involving the state’s supercomputer, Encanto.

The New Mexico Computing Applications Center, which oversees Encanto, is under contract for $5.3 million in support of those grants. The awards will provide funding over a five-year period to the supercomputing center.    » read more »

11/08/09 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, U.S. Representative Martin Heinrich voted for H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 220 to 215, becoming the first chamber to pass such a significant expansion of health care since Congress passed Medicare in 1965.    » read more »

November 4, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today issued the following statement regarding the Senate’s long-awaited passage of an Unemployment Insurance benefits extension following weeks of partisan delays:

“While I remain outraged that Senate Republicans decided to engage in nearly a month of political gamesmanship before working with us to extend unemployment benefits for millions of laid-off American workers, I’m relieved that aid for these families is around is finally the corner.

“In New Mexico, more than 150,000 residents are jobless as a result of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Now we will finally be able to send them a financial lifeline to keeping roofs over their heads and food on their tables.    » read more »

November 4, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today said he is pleased the Senate has approved legislation to extend unemployment benefits to thousands of New Mexicans who have been unable to find a job in this difficult economic climate.

The bill would extend unemployment insurance by up to 14 additional weeks for jobless workers in all states and up to 20 weeks in hard-hit states with unemployment levels at or above 8.5 percent. New Mexico's unemployment rate as of September was 7.7 percent, up from 4.3 percent a year ago.    » read more »

November 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today confirmed that the counties of Lea, Curry, Quay and Roosevelt have been declared eligible for disaster assistance due to their proximity to Texas counties, which were declared disaster areas due drought and other disasters that occurred earlier this year.

As a result of the declaration, farmers and ranchers in Lea, Curry, Quay and Roosevelt counties are now eligible to be considered for low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency, which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).    » read more »

October 30, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy has released over $10 million for four New Mexico projects aimed at exploring and developing new geothermal fields and research into advanced geothermal technologies. Funding comes from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

“Geothermal energy can be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly form of energy production. This funding will help New Mexico take advantage of the current technology, and make investments in advancing this important technology, as well,” Bingaman said.    » read more »

October 28, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced that the Navajo Tribal Utility Association will receive a $4.9 million grant to better serve its 38,000 customers.

The funding, which comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will be used to install a “smart grid” network and data management system that will quickly identify system outages.

“This is an important investment in the Navajo Nation – one that will result in better service to the Navajo Nation Utility Association’s nearly 40,000 customers,” Bingaman said. “At the same time, this grant will help create good jobs in the area.”    » read more »

October 29, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy has released over $10 million for four New Mexico projects aimed at exploring and developing new geothermal fields and research into advanced geothermal technologies. Funding comes from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

“Geothermal energy can be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly form of energy production. This funding will help New Mexico take advantage of the current technology, and make investments in advancing this important technology, as well,” Bingaman said.    » read more »

NM Governor Bill Richardson Applauds Administration’s Decision Not to Prosecute Licensed Medical Cannabis Patients and Producers

October 19, 2009 -- SANTA FE – Governor Bill Richardson today applauded President Barack Obama and the United States Department of Justice for their policy to not pursue criminal charges against licensed medical cannabis patients and producers.

The Department of Justice sent a memo to United States Attorneys today advising that they should not prosecute licensed patients and producers who are in compliance with state medical cannabis laws.    » read more »

October 17, 2009 -- SANTA FE -- New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today proposed his adjusted plan to deal with the state budget shortfall as lawmakers head into a special budget legislative session. Governor Richardson spent the day laying out his plan to lawmakers and stressing his priorities of saving jobs and making sure education is not harmed by major cuts.

“I have made adjustments to my original budget proposal to reflect our new budget realities. But just like my original plan, this is a fiscally responsible package with minimum cuts to services and one that avoids layoffs and furloughs,” Governor Bill Richardson said. “I have made it very clear to legislators that any cuts to education must be minimal and not affect our classrooms, kids and teachers."    » read more »

Oct. 16, 2009 -- SANTA FE -- New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today applauded a $5.8 million grant from the U.S.

Department of Education to provide services to more than 2,000 children over 3-years-old that receive early intervention services through the Department of Health’s Family Infant Toddler Program. The funding is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will help New Mexico create and retain developmental specialist and therapist jobs in communities across New Mexico.

This grant recognizes New Mexico as a national leader in early childhood services. New Mexico and Maryland were the only states to be awarded State Incentive Grant funds, which are in addition to other federal funds.    » read more »

October 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall voted (80-17) to give final passage to a key spending bill that supports New Mexico’s two national laboratories, the Waste Isolation Pilot Project and a variety of key water-related projects.

The 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill is now ready to be sent to the White House for signature.    » read more »

Clovis-Area Superstation To Send NM-Produced Renewable Energy to Customers in Other States

Oct. 12, 2009 -- SANTA FE – New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today announced that New Mexico will be home to the Tres Amigas Super Station, which will connect America’s three main power grids – opening the door to more efficient delivery of renewable energy through the nation’s power transmission infrastructure.

“New Mexico leads the way in green and renewable energy development,” Governor Bill Richardson said. “But we need the ability to send energy produced in New Mexico to surrounding states. Tres Amigas will break that barrier, creating a larger market for our energy.

New Mexico is proud to be chosen as the site for this unique renewable energy market hub."    » read more »